Want China Times, CNA 2015-05-17
An
amendment to the Labor Standards Act in Taiwan cleared the Legislative Yuan
Friday, paving the way for a five-day workweek and for working hours per week
to be reduced to 40 hours.
Service personnel work at a restaurant in Taipei, April 21. (File photo/ Fang Chun-che) |
Lin
Por-fong. (Photo/ Hung His-lung)
|
The
amendments will be put into force Jan. 1, 2016.
Under the
current labor law, normal working hours per day cannot exceed eight hours and
working hours per two weeks cannot exceed 84 hours. If employers are found to
be in violation of the law, they will be subject to fines of between NT$20,000
(US$657) and NT$300,000 (US$9,860).
Also,
employers cannot cut their workers' wages under the pretense of
"adjusting" normal working hours, the revised law stipulates.
Under the
current law, employers must prepare attendance books for workers and keep them
for one year. The amended law states that the attendance records should be kept
for five years and that employers will face fines of between NT$90,000
(US$2,985) and NT$450,000 (US$14,790) if found to be in violation.
The revised
law also stipulates that the attendance records should note the hours and
minutes worked. When a worker asks for a copy of his or her attendance record,
employers cannot refuse them.
The amended
law also allows workers to adjust their working hours according to their
circumstances, meaning that employers will have to, based on the needs of
workers who have to take care of their families, allow them flexibility to
adjust their start and finishing times within a range of one hour without
changing the normal working hours per day.
The
Ministry of Labor hailed the amended law as a "new milestone" in 14
years, referring to the last amendment in 2001, when working hours were reduced
to 84 hours per two weeks, saying that it puts Taiwan on a par with developed
countries.
It will
also help workers to maintain a balance between their work and home life, and
help boost economic and social development, according to the ministry.
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